The field of the present disclosure relates to systems and methods of monitoring items for store checkout or inventory management. In a preferred application, the present disclosure relates to a system for filling an order such as from a retail store and providing self-service checkout with adequate security.
Presently, the item identification, charge, payment, and checkout in most retail stores is “centralized,” meaning that it is done centrally at a checkout stand. The store generally has a shelf and display area in which the items to be purchased are located. The customer enters this area through a turnstile or other entrance. The customer then selects the items to be purchased and takes them to the central checkout stand area where several checkout stands may be located. There, the items are handled by a store clerk who identifies the items and determines the price of each item and adds the prices to determine the cost to the customer. This task may be aided by the use of an electronic cash register and an optical code reader. The customer then pays for the items by a suitable payment method such as cash, check, or credit/debit card. The customer then leaves the store with the items, in some cases helped by the clerk. In this centralized checkout, the items must be physically handled several times. First, if a basket, cart or trolley is used, the items are removed from the shelf and placed in the cart. Second, the items are removed from the cart and placed on the checkout counter. Third, the checkout clerk moves the items across the counter and past an optical code reader. Fourth, the clerk may put the items in a bag or box, and sometimes the clerk sends the items down a ramp where a bagger bags the items then moves the item-filled bags back into the cart or hands the bags to the customer. This process is time-consuming for the store clerk and may result in a long wait for the customer, particularly during peak shopping periods.
One approach to improve the efficiency of the centralized process is to automate the central checkout process. This approach is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,343 and uses a scanner in front of an item tunnel. The customer scans each item and places it on the conveyor belt, which carries the item through the tunnel where its identity is confirmed by its weight and size. In U.S. Pat. No. 8,967,474, the items are taken to the checkout counter and placed on a conveyor belt which moves the items through a tunnel scanner where the items are scanned. However, neither of these approaches eliminate all the drawbacks of a “centralized” system.
In general, a decentralized checkout may offer benefits over the centralized checkout by reducing the customer steps required for checkout. Several systems of decentralized checkout have been devised. One system for automated checkout is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,836,755 whereby a scanner in the cart is used to read the items removed from the shelf and placed in the cart. To confirm the presence of the items in the cart, a scale in the cart measures the increase in the weight of the cart. The weighing is further used to eliminate fraud by monitoring the addition and subtraction of the weight in the cart. Another cart-mounted scanner is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,373,133 where a shopping cart is provided with a laser scanner wand, whereby the customer selects an item from the shelf, scans the item selected and places the scanned item in the cart. Once item selection/collection has been completed, the customer proceeds to a sales terminal where bag(s) containing the items are placed on a weighing machine and if the measured weight corresponds to the aggregate weight, the transaction is approved and an aggregate price for the items is indicated to the customer. Nonetheless, these systems have limitations as to preventing fraud and may be cumbersome to the user.